GAIA'S BOY :
Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition was a doomed attempt to chart the last untraveled sections of the Northwest Passage, a sea route through the Arctic that connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It became one of the greatest maritime mysteries in history.
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The Expedition
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Ships: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror
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Crew: 129 men, including Franklin as the leader
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Goal: To navigate the Northwest Passage and map the Arctic
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Equipped with: Steam engines, iron-reinforced hulls, and a large supply of preserved food
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What Happened?
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1. Last European Contact (July 1845): The ships were last seen by whalers in Baffin Bay, heading into the Arctic.
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2. Trapped in Ice (1846-1848): They became icebound near King William Island, unable to escape.
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3. Franklin’s Death (1847): Franklin died under unknown circumstances. The crew attempted to survive but faced starvation, scurvy, lead poisoning (possibly from poorly sealed food cans), and extreme cold.
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4. Abandonment (April 1848): The remaining crew left the ships, trying to walk south but perished.
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5. Rescue Missions (1850s–1900s): Numerous expeditions searched for survivors, finding graves, scattered remains, and eerie notes left by the crew.
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6. Ships Found (2014 & 2016): Erebus was discovered in 2014 and Terror in 2016, well-preserved in Arctic waters.
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Theories About Their Fate
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Lead poisoning from canned food or ship pipes weakened their health and decision-making.
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Extreme cold and starvation wiped them out.
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Possible cannibalism: Some evidence suggests desperate survivors resorted to eating their dead.
2025-03-06 15:21:06